Football: Salary System - Chapter 142: Cashing In on Nostalgia (Patreon)

“Zayn! Welcome to Peaky Blinders territory.”

“Mr. Murphy, seeing you dressed like that, I almost thought I’d traveled back to 1929.”

The man who had come out to greet Zayn was none other than Cillian Murphy, the actor who played the show’s protagonist, Tommy Shelby.

The Irish actor was one of Christopher Nolan’s regular collaborators. From the Batman films to Inception and Dunkirk, Murphy had appeared in most of Nolan’s movies.

A few years later, the two would work together again on Oppenheimer, which would sweep the Oscars and earn Murphy the Academy Award for Best Actor.

“Just call me Cillian. You know, I barely ever get out of these clothes while we’re filming.”

This was Zayn’s first time seeing the full Peaky Blinders look in person. He studied Murphy’s outfit carefully before saying with genuine admiration,

“It really does look cool.”

Quite a few people had come out to greet Zayn. Their characters were not involved in the scenes currently being filmed, so they had all decided to come and see England’s golden boy for themselves.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zayn followed them into the large gray building.

This was naturally not the site of the secret meeting a certain stunned paparazzo had imagined.

It was Space Studios, a large film and television production complex and a popular base for productions shooting in northwest England.

Starting with season five, the Peaky Blinders production had made its home here.

On the way to the soundstage, Zayn learned from the conversation that future Irish Academy Award winner Cillian Murphy was a Liverpool supporter.

That did not surprise him much. Liverpool was often jokingly referred to as Ireland’s second capital, after all.

What did surprise him was learning that Sam Claflin, who had joined the cast for season five and had previously appeared in The Hunger Games, had once come surprisingly close to becoming a footballer himself.

As a boy, Sam had played center back in Norwich City’s youth academy and had been quite talented. Unfortunately, a serious ankle injury at sixteen forced him to give up the game.

Even now, however, he remained a devoted Norwich supporter.

Once Zayn entered the soundstage, the welcome became even more enthusiastic.

The crew temporarily put down whatever they were doing and crowded around him.

Zayn greeted them one by one. When people pulled out their phones and asked for photos, he happily obliged.

Football was everywhere in England and across Europe.

And in this era, anyone who followed the game knew the name Zayn Ryder.

More importantly, this was a production crew made up primarily of Brits.

There were not many English fans who could dislike the blond teenager who had carried the Three Lions to within touching distance of glory in Russia.

Tom Hardy gave Zayn a firm hug as well.

Fresh off the enormous worldwide success of Venom, Hardy was currently the biggest star on the entire set.

If anything, though, he was a little too enthusiastic. Once he grabbed Zayn’s hand, he seemed reluctant to let go.

“Zayn, I really need to thank myself. Knight killed off my character at the end of season four, and I spent months pestering him until he agreed to bring me back to life. If I hadn’t been so persistent, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you today.”

Zayn laughed.

“Then I suppose I should thank you for being persistent too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you here, Mr. Hardy. I’m a huge fan of Venom.”

That delighted Hardy even more, and he kept chatting while repeatedly patting Zayn on the shoulder.

Zayn toured the soundstage with Murphy and several members of the creative team, and the atmosphere remained relaxed and friendly.

But as the conversation went on, Zayn discovered something that left him both amused and exasperated.

Not one person in the group supported Villa.

Not one of them supported Dortmund either.

Hardy supported Roma and also Tottenham back home.

He would later narrate the Tottenham documentary that covered Pochettino’s dismissal, Mourinho’s arrival, and the dressing-room clash between Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris.

Paul Anderson, who played Arthur, was a die-hard Celtic supporter.

Even Steven Knight, the screenwriter who had pushed hardest to bring Zayn onto the show, was really just a fan of Zayn himself.

The club Knight actually supported was Birmingham City, Villa’s crosstown rival.

Knight had been born in Wiltshire, but his family moved back to Small Heath in Birmingham when he was only three months old. Small Heath was also where the Peaky Blinders had originally made their name.

When Zayn asked why he supported Birmingham City, his fellow Birmingham native explained it like this:

“Zayn, I never really had a choice. My whole family supports Birmingham City. My parents, my grandparents, everyone.

“I have a cousin who still has a postcard from the Battle of the Somme during the First World War. My grandfather, Henry Knight, was there. He served in the cavalry. You know, the night before the battle, every soldier was given a blank postcard to write something to their family in case they were killed the next day.

“And the very first thing he wrote at the top was, ‘Give the Blues a shout for me.’”

Zayn listened, then nodded seriously.

“Mr. Knight, I completely understand.”

Since his rebirth, he had gained a much deeper appreciation for the bond between European football clubs and their local communities.

Stories like Knight’s were hardly unusual in England.

Football had simply been rooted in this island for far too long.

Knight smiled before adding half-jokingly,

“Seriously, I really wish you’d chosen Birmingham City instead of Aston Villa when you were a kid.”

Zayn replied,

“Birmingham City will have heroes of their own. I’ve got my eye on that kid Jude Bellingham.

“If I remember correctly, he’s sixteen this year and already playing for Birmingham City’s U23s, right? I think he was with England’s U23s during this international break too. I saw him at St. George’s Park.”

Knight looked genuinely surprised.

“You actually follow Jude? I’ve watched him in a few youth matches. He plays in midfield, but if I’m being truthful, I thought he looked pretty average.”

There was another thought Knight kept to himself.

Zayn had only just turned eighteen. Why was he already talking about someone else like some veteran discussing a kid coming through the ranks?

Zayn merely smiled.

“You’ll see in the future, Mr. Knight.”

“Well, if he’s good enough for you to remember his name, there must be something about him. I’ll have to pay more attention from now on.”

...

After that, Zayn chatted with the director for a while longer before it was finally time to film.

“The scene we’re doing today introduces Billy Grade. He’s a retired footballer who now sings in a pub. Arthur finds him and wants him to start working for him.

“We actually finished the scene two days ago, but... well, the director and I both thought it was missing something. Since you’re here, we’re going to shoot it again and find you a place in it.

“Nothing difficult. We’re just putting you in the background.”

Zayn nodded and followed him toward the carefully constructed vintage pub set.

“Zayn, your part is very simple.” The director pointed toward a semi-open booth in the distance. “Change into this, get a little makeup done, then sit over there with a friend, have a drink, and chat about whatever you want.”

...

Zayn had his makeup done and changed into the clothes the production had prepared for him.

It was a replica Aston Villa shirt from the 1928-29 season.

Apparently to avoid potential copyright trouble, the club crest and other details had not been reproduced precisely. The shirt simply retained Villa’s classic claret color with sky-blue trim.

The show was currently set in 1929.

By then, Villa were already one of England’s most decorated clubs, having won the top-flight league title and FA Cup multiple times.

The director then led Zayn to the semi-open booth in the corner of the set.

The lighting was dim, and several glasses of prop whiskey sat on the table.

The extra playing Zayn’s companion was already seated with his back to the camera, wearing the same style of shirt.

Their job could hardly have been simpler.

They were just background extras.

There was no difficulty to it at all. If anything, it was a little boring.

Then Zayn noticed something.

The shirt worn by the man beside him was slightly different from his own.

Several white letters were printed across the back.

“Walker.”

The name seemed familiar.

Zayn thought about it for a moment before suddenly remembering where he had heard it.

Billy Walker.

One of the greatest legends in Aston Villa’s history.

He had spent twenty years at Aston Villa, from 1914 to 1934.

During his playing career, he made 531 appearances for Villa and scored 244 goals, making him the club’s all-time leading scorer.

His managerial career after retirement had been just as impressive. He won the FA Cup with Sheffield Wednesday before spending twenty-one years in charge of Nottingham Forest.

His football career stretched across both World Wars, making him one of the defining figures of British football from that era.

And in this shot, a man wearing the shirt of one of Villa’s greatest legends was sitting at the same table as Zayn during his cameo.

The production team had clearly prepared one hell of an Easter egg.

When the episode aired, Villa fans were going to lose their minds the moment they spotted it.

Hell, even casual viewers would get a thrill out of it once someone explained the reference.

Zayn could not help complaining to himself.

Damn, these people really knew how to cash in on nostalgia.

No wonder that Peaky Blinders sequel movie in 2026 turned out so terrible!

They’d been too busy milking the nostalgia!